Finding Favorites with Leah Jones

Concert Photography: Aimee Giese will be in the pit for the first three songs

Aimee Giese is a Denver-based graphic designer and concert photographer. We talked about how organizing a fundraiser at her son's school opened the door for her to become an accomplished concert photographer. She explained to me the rules of shooting concerts, declares Red Rocks the best venue in the world (fair) and introduced me to a dozen new bands and photographers over the course of our conversation.
Links
Follow Aimee Giese, aka Greeblehaus, on
Twitter
Instagram
Pinterest
Reading her blog, start here
U2 Concert Photos
Halloqueen with Ghost in the Jukebox
Denver and Colorado Concert Photographers on Instagram
Additional links
#SaveOurStages
Jim Marshall
Lynn Goldsmith
Mary Ellen Matthews, SNL
Mik Rock
Bluebird District
Mission Ballroom
Prelude Press

@RogueShul: Jewish Geography at the Crossroads of America

Caroline Dorn and Ellie Klein Goldman are the women between @RogueShul. Until this week, the account was anonymous, but that didn't stop it from being at the center of many delightful conversations for people active in the Reform movement (and beyond). The account was from the POV of imaginary synagogue staff dedicated to the mission and the people, but a little exasperated from time to time.
Ellie and I are from the same hometown in Indiana (aka The Crossroads of America), her bestie from Camp GUCI is my Rabbi's daughter, and her younger brother was in my class at Woodrow Wilson Junior High.
 
In 2021, Ellie and Caroline are launching the Real Time Strategy Group to help synagogues and teams with trainings, workshops and professional development.
 
Links
Follow Caroline on Twitter and Instagram
Buy some RogueShul merch
Buy a copy of my self-published children's book Hanukkah on Miller Drive on Snapfish
Terre Haute, Indiana, the Crossroads of America

Sean Ellis: The Noble Swordsman from Noblesville, Indiana

Sean Ellis is a co-founder of the Los Angeles Historical European Martial Arts Society and an avid participant in Historical European Martial Arts (HEMA) aka sword stuff. If you were ever obsessed with the sword fight in Princess Bride, this episode will teach you what the dialogue really means and Sean will find a way to get you psyched about picking up a sword this year.
Link Round-Up
LAHMAS on Facebook
SoCal Swordfight
Forteza Fitness in Chicago
Academy of Arms in Burbank
Hero's Journey LA
Directory of online HEMA classes for COVID times
Sharp swords live stream (not from Poland, no blood)
Fastest forgotten archery
Hans Talhoffer Manuscript project on IndieGoGo
Hans Talhoffer Wikipedia
Manuscript I 33
 
Steve Martin in Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid
A Christmas Story
Vigo County is no longer a bellweather county
Field Band 101
Hi Josh Cheney
 

Knitting (and other therapeutic crafts) with Thea Lux

Thea Lux, an LA-based actor, writer, comic and voice-over artist, jumped on Zoom with me to talk about knitting - specifically all the sweaters she's been knitting during COVID. We talk about patterns, finding errors and deciding when to start over.
Did you vote yet?
Show Links
Follow Thea on Twitter and Instagram
Hot Dog City, USA on Etsy
Like Mother on Audible
Support Geeky Teas in LA
Thea was Comic of the Week on The Jackie and Laurie Show (on my birthday)
Hollywood Fringe Festival
 
22

Bonus: talking about Writing the Rails

Author Joanna QL and I talked about Writing the Rails, I Fight Dragons and what it was like to mix social media and music business in the late aughts.
 
Links
Writing the Rails
I Fight Dragons
A Seasonal Table: Winter

Crafting and Cooking with author JQL

Joanna QL, author of The Seasonal Table: Winter, loves all forms of making and crafting. Whether it's cooking, sewing, wood burning or massive home projects - she's your go to person! We talk about her Ayurvedic training, a new cookbook and then dive deep on where her love of making comes from. She also has a warning for people running Zooms with kids - watch out for the Motion Sickness Opera and advises that we adults laugh it off when it happens.
Episode Links
The Seasonal Table: Winter
Seasonable Table Merch (including spice packs and tea towels)
Follow Joanna on Twitter to learn about Zoom cook-alongs
Go deep in the archives for Writing the Rails videos with David Kav
Proof that Amtrak caught up to us with a Writing the Rails fellowship for authors
Become a citizen scientist with Sci Starter
Martin Atkins from Pigface is a professor at my alma mater
 
 
 

Give us the magic! Leah and Shai take a tangent

Shai and I went down a winding path during our CATS episode about close-up magic, movies about magic and the Magic Castle in LA. Somebody invite us both when all of this is over, please.
Chicago Magic Lounge
Magic Castle
David Copperfield disappeared the Statue of Liberty

Shai Korman feels jellicle and ineffable about CATS the musical

Shai Korman, from Friday Night Movie Podcast and the Goldnerds, joined me to talk about his devotion to the musical CATS. We do talk about the How Did This Get Made livestream show about CATS a fair amount, but I think we limited the inside baseball to a low roar.
Show Links
Follow Shai on Twitter and Instagram
Femmebot PhD: CATS One Person Show - CAT
The Amazing Alexander - "it was better than Cats, I will see it again and again."
Beautiful Ghosts lost to Shallow by Lady Gaga in the 2019 Oscars (but not being submitted to compete at all)
Everyday Sunshine: The story of Fishbone
Mantzoukas-Fest on Friday Night Movie Pod
 

Adrienne Ciskey is ready to talk about The Sims

Adrienne Ciskey, aka @solarpowerspork, has been playing Sims for 20 years and is only recently willing to talk about her love of the game in public. She walked me through the different types of players, things that The Sims is famous for, what she hopes for the future of the gaming franchise and how The Sims can teach us to build a more equitable world.
Links
Lift Every Voice and Sing arranged by Jarrett Johnson (fellow Millikin grad)
Hey Harrie is on Patreon and YouTube with custom builds and mods
Jim Pickins on YouTube is The Sims + Comedy
Freezer Bunny is an architect
Plum Bella livestreams on Twitch and YouTube
Devon Bumpkin has a very nice Twitch community
Electronic Arts statement on #BlackLivesMatter
 

Whitney Wasson loves propagating apartment plants

As the saying goes, "teach a girl to propagate a cactus and she'll eat fish for a lifetime." That's not the saying, but Whitney Wasson, who makes jokes for a living, joined me from her plant-filled Uptown apartment to talk about what it takes to keep all sorts of plants thriving during a quarantine. We also talk about the business of stand-up comedy, sobriety and the theory of dumbbell maps. Just this week she released a Sober Rabbit coloring book that you can grab in her Big Cartel shop.
Link round-up!
Whitney on Twitter
Sober Rabbit - on Instagram, Big Cartel, Patreon and Threadless
Rachel Lynett Theater Company
Adams and Sons in Chicago
Jackie and Laurie Show
How to care for your moss balls